THAO NGUYEN Thao is a Director/Producer/Actor/Singer who is comfortable on both the operatic and musical theatre stage. He is acclaimed by critics for his "velvety baritone and his ease and grace on stage." Notable Performances: Off Broadway/Regional- Tropical Angels, Miss Saigon, Shrek, 25th Annual..., South Pacific and Pippin in which he was voted "Best Performer in a Musical" BroadwayWorld CT. As a champion for new music in the classical world, he was delighted to be a part of the evolution of opera in the first-of-its-kind "virtual opera” Fortune's Children by David Wolfson with Hartford Opera Theater, which is now streaming on BroadwayOnDemand. An active film/tv/commercial actor, you can catch him in Marvel's She-Hulk available on Disney+ and in the feature film "Nemesis Eterna" coming in 2024, along with many national commercials. He is represented by The Brock Agency for Film/TV/Commercial. A graduate of UNC School of the Arts, Thao is currently based in Winston Salem, where he maintains a private voice studio. You can follow him on Instagram, TikTok, & Facebook @thetaoofThao and www.thaotnguyen.com for further information.

VICTORIA MOONEY Victoria “Tori” Mooney was born and raised on Hilton Head Island, SC! After Tori moved to CT in 2009, she performed at theaters across the state. She made her Playhouse on Park debut in 2013 in GO DOG GO!, and has been heavily engaged in all things Playhouse ever since. She has performed in 8 Theatre for Young Audience productions and 8 stop/time dance theater shows. She is a regular performer in Mama D’s Outrageous Romps. Tori is a current teaching artist for Playhouse Theatre Academy, as well as the Volunteer Coordinator. You see her most frequently when you attend a show because her main position is the Front of House Manager. Tori is jazzed to be co-hosting ENCORE again!

VEANNE COX is an actress who has worked on Broadway, off-Broadway, on TV and in films, on streaming series and podcasts and at leading regional theaters. She has been nominated for Tony and Emmy awards, and has received a Special Drama Desk award and an Obie award for Sustained Excellence. On Broadway she has been seen in the world premieres of An American in Paris, Tony Kushner’s CAROLINE, OR CHANGE, Neil Simon’s THE DINNER PARTY, John Guare’s A FREE MAN OF COLOR and the 1995 revival of Stephen Sondheim’s COMPANY. Off-Broadway she was in the world premieres of Craig Wright’s BLIND, Nicky Silver's THE ALTRUISTS, Chuck Mee’s PARADISE PARK, A.R. Gurney's LABOR DAY, among many other appearances, Horton Foote’s THE OLD FRIENDS, and in a concert staging of THE SOUND OF MUSIC at Carnegie Hall. Regional theater work includes the world premieres of B.D. Wong’s musical MR. HOLLAND'S OPUS at the Ogunquit Playhouse, and Ken Ludwig’s MURDER ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS at the McCarter Theatre, as well as THE MUSIC MAN at the Kennedy Center, Noel Coward’s PRIVATE LIVES at the Guthrie Theatre, THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING EARNEST at La Jolla Playhouse, Moliere’s THE IMAGINARY INVALID at Yale Repertory Theatre, and several plays at the Shakespeare Theatre in Washington DC, including THE COMEDY OF ERRORS, TWELFTH NIGHT, THEMERRY WIVES OF WINDOSR, THE BEAUX' STRATAGEM and THE WAY OF THE WORLD. On television she has been seen on The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, Indoor Boys, Cady Did, New Amsterdam, NCIS New Orleans, Smash and many others, including Seinfeld and the1997 version of Cinderella. Film work includes Summoning Sylvia, Radium Girls, Hal Hartley’s Henry Fool, Erin Brockovich, and You’ve Got Mail. She appears on the cast albums of the Broadway productions of Company, Caroline, or Change, and An American in Paris. She was born and raised in Richmond, Virginia, studied ballet and danced with The Washington Ballet Company, and makes her home in New York City.

JAYKE WORKMAN is a non-binary performer based in New York City! A graduate of The Hartt School in Hartford, CT, Jayke has performed regionally all over the country, from Aspen, Colorado, to Cape Cod. Most recently they were seen as Mary Sunshine in Chicago The Musical on Broadway. When not onstage, Jayke works in the wig department for Saturday Night Live.

OLIVIA CIAFFAGLIONE is feeling “jazzed” to be making her performance debut at Playhouse on Park. A musical theater graduate of the Hartt School, Olivia spent the pandemic years working to earn her master’s in secondary English Education from the University of Connecticut. She now teaches at a local middle school in Newington where she is also the assistant director of their theater program. Olivia can be spotted with her band, Soundbite, performing at Connecticut venues over the summer. She would like to thank Darlene and Benjamin for the special performance opportunity!

THOMAS DOELGER A WeHa native, Thomas is excited to be here celebrating Playhouse on Park! International/National Tour Credits: A Chorus Line (Shanghai Premier). Regional Credits: The Little Mermaid, Sound of Music, Disney’s When You Wish (Tuacahn Center for the Arts), The Donkey Show (ART, dir. Diane Paulus), High Society (Winnipesaukee Playhouse), What Is This Place? (Kennedy Center, dir. Bill T Jones).

HILLARY EKWALL is from West Hartford, CT who loves working at her home theatre Playhouse on Park where she has been involved in over 20 productions, including: NUNSENSE (Sr. Amnesia), SPELLING BEE (Schwarzy), CHARLIE BROWN (Sally), directing CURIOUS GOERGE and assistant choreographer on THE SCOTTSBORO BOYS and IN THE HEIGHTS. Additional select credits include: NATIONAL TOURS: Roundabout Theatre’s CABARET (Rosie, cello/violin), HOW THE GRINCH STOLE CHRISTMAS, REGIONAL: GREASE (Patty Simcox), ROCKY HORROR (Columbia), CABARET (Kost). She is also an accomplished cellist and has played at Goodspeed Opera House, Playhouse on Park, CBS Christmas Special, and various NYC theaters. When not performing Hillary teaches theatre and coaches gymnastics.

OLIVIA FENTON is a New York City based actor, singer, and musician. A Wethersfield native and proud graduate of The Hartt School, she is thrilled to be back in Hartford, joining this fantastic lineup of performers. Favorite performances include: Hunchback of Notre Dame (The Rev), Sweeney Todd (Connecticut Rep), A Little Night Music (Monomoy Theatre). When not onstage, Olivia teaches music to talented kids and sings as much jazz as she can!

AMANDA FORKER has been performing at Playhouse on Park since it’s memorable first season! Some favorite POP credits include: Stop TIME Dance MACHINE (stop/time Dance Theater), Mother Superior (NUNSENSE), SAY THINGS FUNNY: A Loving Tribute to Carol Burnett, Host (MAMA D'S OUTRAGEOUS ROMPs), Heidi [TITLE OF SHOW], Mrs. Pinkerton (PINK-ALICIOUS) and Miss Nelson/Viola Swamp (MISS NELSON IS MISSING). She got her Bachelor of Music degree in Vocal Performance from Western Connecticut State University.




MACKENZIE L. FRIEDMANN is a Queens- based artist, theatrically trained, musically inclined. To experience her music listen to “LCVE” by loser cruiser or her debut album “River Body” by Blue Løvborg. Playhouse on Park: Mama D’s Outrageous Romp, CABARET, SWINGING ON A STAR.

SAGE JEPSON (they/he) Originally from Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, Sage is a multi-hyphenate performer and singer/songwriter based in New York. Select credits: DANDELION (Playhouse on Park), RENT, ROCKY HORROR SHOW, SEUSSICAL (Weston Theater Company), SHREK (BroadwayWorld Best Production), HEAD OVER HEELS, METAMORPHOSES. They write music under “lavender boy” on Spotify/Apple Music. Sage is an advocate for experimental theater, brave new works and accessibility for artists of all abilities. BFA Boston Conservatory. sagejepson.com / ig: @sx.ge

KRISTEN SCHOEN-RENÉ grew up in Vernon, Connecticut and now lives closer to the sea in Niantic. You may have caught her in Playhouse on Park's production of Pippin last summer! Other credits include being a Radio City Rockette, Susan Stroman’s Merry Widow at both the Metropolitan Opera House in NYC and the Lyric Opera in Chicago, several productions of Young Frankenstein including the NETworks national tour and at Ogunquit Playhouse, and regional productions of: The Will Rogers Follies, Spamalot, Anything Goes, Chicago, Mamma Mia! and 42nd St. Kristen's favorite credit is being mom to Beckett and Quentin. She holds a BFA in dance from Ailey/Fordham University and is a graduate of the Greater Hartford Academy of the Arts.


SPENCER POND is a Pop Artsurdist based out of Queens, NY. They aim to create dance pieces that are flamboyant and rhythmic, with community on the brain, and tongue in the cheek. You may recognize him from the Playhouse on Park stage as a former member of stop/time dance theater, or a cast member in productions such as SWINGING ON A STAR, CHICAGO, A CHORUS LINE, or Mama D's Outrageous Romp to name a few. @spenceyspice

BENJAMIN RAUCH (Music Director) leads a multi-faceted career as a countertenor, composer, conductor, and educator. He spent a year singing soprano with Chanticleer, America's premier a cappella vocal ensemble, performing on major concert stages across the United States, Europe, and Japan, including New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles, the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, and Vienna's Musikverein. With the GRAMMY® awarding winning ensemble, Benjamin performed live on NBC’s popular morning television program “Today”. Solo engagements include Bernstein's Chichester Psalms, Orff’s Carmina Burana, Kodály's Missa Brevis, Pergolesi's Stabat Mater, Hamor in Handel’s Jephtha, The Spirit in Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas, The Premiere of La Lombardesca with music of the Polish Baroque, and The Connecticut Premiere of David Briggs’ Requiem. He has performed as a soloist with numerous ensembles including Chanticleer, Crescendo, The Greater New Haven Community Chorus, The New Haven Chorale, New Britain Symphony Orchestra, Beth El Symphony Orchestra, CitySingers of Hartford, Hartford Opera Theater, Chorus Angelicus, and Gaudeamus. In 2020, he was part of Opera Harmony's Digital Creations Created in Confinement where he played David in Ken Steen's Apart/Mental, which won the Bury Court Opera Award.

Regularly commissioned as a choral composer, Benjamin has written numerous works for ensembles including The First Church of Christ in Hartford - Center Church Choir, The St. Patrick – St. Anthony Gallery Choir, and The Hartt Singers.

Benjamin is the founder and director of Benjamin Rauch Voice Studios where he teaches private voice, and the Artistic Director of Vocal Intensive Program (VIP), a ten-day summer festival for singers. Also at home in musical theater, Benjamin has served as music director for over 20 productions throughout the northeast. His first collaboration with Playhouse On Park was as music director for the filmed production of ALL IS CALM in 2020. Benjamin has taught at The Hartt School for the last 15 years. Outside of Hartt, he teaches his own Ear Training for Singers course #raucheartraining, which makes musicianship training available to those who would otherwise not have access to this kind of education. @benjaminrauch